12 Days of Christmas SAL

Hop on over to Plum Street Samplers blog, there is a wonderful free 12 days of Christmas stitch a long that has begun. I have decided to join in the fun!

I have stitched the first four days so far and when I am done stitching the whole set, I will be sewing them into individual ornaments. 

I am stitching them on linen I purchased off of the big bolt (in the home decor fabric section of Hobby Lobby) using DMC threads.

I have decided I love the crowns to be gold in color too :)

Colors chosen as DMC #'s 902, 729, 730 and 3740.

So thankful to Paulette Stewart of Plum Street Samplers for graciously providing these charts to all of us for free! 

You can join in the SAL by going to her blog each Sunday for the newest download of ornaments at:

Plumstreetsamplers.typepad.com

Hope you join in too, it's lots of fun!

Louisexx

I am Happy

I am happy. Our family had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Our Sailor was home for a visit which made it all the better! I have missed my son so much. I am happy that he will be home again for Christmas. Each moment together as a family means so much in my heart.
We had a really nice day, and the meal was delicious. A lot of work..but delicious! It was wonderful to spend time with our son again.
My Dear Husband worked before Thanksgiving day on painting the dining room and putting up molding on the walls. He also built a half way between the living and dining room area. There used to be "pillars" ..but we took them down. They were not load bearing, and meant for decoration only. It didn't fit in with my country likings, so down they came..little did we know that they built the wood floor AROUND the poles!! Yikes!
So, yes, there were holes in the wooden floor.
Hubby is so creative, he put up half walls to cover the holes in the flooring. He is an amazing carpenter, among many other things.
I have always loved a blue dining room..but I didn't think blue would look right when the dining room is very open to the living room...so we continued on with the butter yellow color we painted in the living room and foyer. It does look pretty and very bright, which is good, not enough light comes into our home.
Here is a picture for you to see..

I am so happy with the outcome of the work my husband did. I really love the color yellow on the walls!
I have been crocheting scarves whenever I get a moment to sit and work on them. I think I like the purple ones the best (I guess because purple is my favorite color!)
I haven't been walking as much as I would like to...lots of people around here leave their dogs to roam free and the last time I walked I was terrified when a dog approached me!
I really thought he would bite me..but kept following me which made me really nervous.
Not sure what I can do about it, especially if I don't know who owns the dog.
I just pray the next time I go out walking it won't be around!
Been getting ready for the Christmas season...
putting up the Raggedy Ann tree, and little decorations here and there...

 

A basket filled with stitched ornaments in the hall bathroom....

 little ornaments on a vanity shelf....

One of my favorite pictures ....

 And...a special wreath my son the Sailor made me when he was little. It is made from tied pieces of tissue! I hang this every year...

 A sweet Santa and Reindeer made by my daughter when she was little....

So many wonderful memories of years ago...
Sometimes I close my eyes and reminisce about the days when my children were toddlers. Oh, how I miss those days so much!
I know how blessed I am that God gave me children to love with my whole heart.
I look forward to a wonderful Christmas season, to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus.
May you all enjoy this wonderful month filled with miracles,
Blessings to all of you!
Louise

New Things

I decided to take a little drive today and treat myself. I was headed over to a local stitch shop, then decided to stop off at one of my favorite Antique Shops on the way called Enchanted Antiques . Oh my! This shop is absolutely filled to the brim with the most gorgeous things! I couldn't wait to see what they had put out for the Fall/Halloween season. I was not disappointed, the shop was beautifully decorated once again!
I found two little things that I could not leave without. A little "Prim" (as in primitive!) doll..isn't she ADORABLE! I love the little stitched saying on her dress..a simple little "Be You". Sweet!
Then, as I meandered around..look at the little bag of itty bitty candy corn! Are they not adorable? I believe they are made out of some sort of resin and are painted and sanded for that time worn look

...I could not do too much shopping for I knew if I wanted to get to the stitch shop and then to the church for my daughter's arrival from school I was short on time. I was busy before this food shopping and having lunch with my wonderful son.
Then..I headed over to the stitch shop and picked up two magazines I have been wanting. Just Cross Stitch Halloween Collection and Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments issue for this year. I have to say, they are both fantastic! Most recently I had seen this adorable chart by Bent Creek titled "Quaker Moon". I had picked that up also.
It was a very good day! I cannot wait to decorate for the Fall season. I am thinking I am done with the hot humid weather that Florida brings. Some new things happening on the home front..but will have to wait a bit to mention what they will be. They are of the good sort of things though :)
I am presently working on a Lorri Birmingham Design that must get finished before the end of October. It is for a darling baby that will turn one soon. We are invited to the birthday and look forward to giving this sweet little Angel something to hang in her room......my progress so far:

Many color changes in Lorri B. Designs...but well worth the effort. The designs usually end up being beautiful!
This design is from this leaflet:

While I was out shopping with my son, we came across some interesting packs of chewing gum. I think this is new, I have never seen it before..we decided to try it out. WOW! Tastes just like eating apple pie. (hee hee!) This will be very good for my diet..by the way, I have lost 10 pounds so far! :)

I came home from my little outing and was surprised to find a treat in my mailbox as well! My sweet stitching friend Kerri sent me a Raggedy Ann pattern by Gloria and Pat Designs. Thank you Kerri!!
Well, that's about all for now. I am going to go do a little stitching for tonight and go through my new magazines..I cannot wait to look at all the beautiful new designs the pages hold!
Blessings to each and everyone of you!
Louise

Ornaments and finds

I finished off my PS Santa ornament. Used a pretty gold trimming for hanging. This will look nice on our new Christmas tree for this coming Christmas. Spent the morning running errands and stopped off at Goodwill to drop off more things that someone else might make use of. Of course I had to go inside! ;)
Yes, I found some treasures. I saw these two little Goebel angels, and even better, I found another piece to add to my cornflower blue collection of corningware!
The inside is scratched up quite a bit, but I don't mind as it won't really be seen when it is filled with food. :)
Slowly but surely I will have enough pieces to maybe consider myself having a complete set.
It is very chilly outside still, keep waiting on that warmer weather to arrive..
soon I hope, soon!

Raggedy Ann Ornaments

I have had many friends inquiring about my Raggedy Ann ornaments.
I thought I should put a post about them :)
These were quite simple to make, I didn't have a pattern for them..just my own idea.

A lot of you wanted to know how to make your own..
I will try my best to explain how I made them.

I used muslin fabric that I had tea dyed (for a vintage look), I used thin batting for in between the circles
I cut the front, back, AND batting circles with pinking shear scissors to prevent fraying.
I placed a folded piece of ribbon for hanging in between layers, then top stitched all three layers together with a straight stitch.

I went to the craft store and picked out a chunky deep colored red yarn for the hair...
I cut pieces of the yarn and folded them in half, tying a knot in the end.
I hot glued each "knot" to the front face of the Raggedy Ann ornament.

I then used acrylic black paint for the eyes...dipping the end of a wooden dowel in the paint and "dotting" each eye for her face (makes perfect circles!)
I Then used a thin brush with red paint and with freehand painting, painted her triangle nose, and the tiny heart for the center of her mouth.

After the eyes, nose, and tiny heart for the mouth were dry..I then took an ultra fine Micron pen (great for fabric!).... and drew the details..such as the eyelashes, mouth lines, and eyebrows.

I tore red fabric into strips and tied bows..hot glue that onto the face of Raggedy Ann, just under her mouth!

I used my covergirl powder blush with a stencil brush and "blushed" her cheeks!

I think this covers everything..they really aren't hard to make at all...
I enjoy doing anything Raggedy Ann..I just LOVE this doll to pieces!

Have fun and happy crafting!

Raggedystitches,